This is the time of year when, if you live in northern Europe, you just want winter to end. The fun of Christmas and New Year gives way to the long-drawn-out anticipation that mornings will get brighter, the days longer and maybe flowers will start appearing. But there is also a big consolation for those of us who feast on movies. They are blooming too.
This year’s nominations and contenders for Bafta and the Oscar awards are as entertaining, funny, disturbing and diverse as any I can think of. I have been binge-watching as many as I can and the real challenge will be for the juries to decide how to come up with a “Best” movie when they end up comparing such a mixed bag.
All Quiet on the Western Front is one serious – very serious – contender for Best Picture. It has a long pedigree. Based on a novel written by a German, Erich Maria Remarque, and set in the First World War, the original title translates from the German as “Nothing New In The West” (Im Westen nichts Neues). First published in 1929, it is possibly the most powerful anti-war novel ever written, the book’s message was so powerful it was banned by the Nazis.
The sheer diversity of this year’s film offerings that is most striking
This remake is one of the most moving films you’ll see this year or any year. What makes it so powerful – and so compelling now – is the contrast between the patriotic young men who volunteer to go and fight for their fatherland, cheered on by their teachers and others as they march off with smiles and laughter and the inevitable reality of war in the trenches and the horrors that await them. Given the modern horrors of another war in Europe, all is far from quiet on the eastern front. There are rumours of a spring offensive about to take place in Ukraine.
All Quiet therefore is definitely in contention for Best Film, but perhaps it should receive a different kind of acclaim. It should perhaps be compulsory viewing once a year for all world leaders at the UN to remind us that the villains of the film are those older men who encourage the young men to go out to become heroes. The young men do not come back, or when they do, they are permanently damaged.
But it is the sheer diversity of this year’s film offerings that is most striking.
Aftersun is a tiny, low-budget story of a father and his daughter taking a holiday in Turkey. That’s it. They have fun. That’s the story. But this film – which justifiably has had rave reviews – is one that will stay with you because (without giving away the very moving core of the story) it’s about family love and memory.
These two films – one, hugely expensive on a wide canvas dealing with one of the most horrific historical events of the 20th century, and the other a miniature work of art beautifully crafted – both achieve the same result. They make you think. They stay with you long after the popcorn is eaten and the cinema is closed.
And there is one other category of film that is particularly strong this year: documentaries. There are so many interesting film directors trying to explain the reality of our world that it is difficult to know where to start.
All That Breathes is about two brothers in India who devote their lives to protecting an endangered bird, the black kite. But this is also an exploration of their own lives in a rapidly changing India. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a documentary about the opioid epidemic in the US and the family whose fortune was much improved by selling the drugs that caused so much damage. Moonage Daydream will delight millions of David Bowie fans.
And above all, Navalny tells the story of the Russian dissident who was poisoned and almost died. I watch plenty of documentaries and it is very rare to be able to say that this is like watching a thriller. Navalny was poisoned in 2020, taken ill on an aircraft flying from Siberia and very lucky that the pilot diverted the plane so he that could be treated. He then was taken to a hospital in Germany. In one of the most remarkable scenes in any documentary, Navalny recovers and tracks down the people who poisoned him. They film a telephone call with one of the poisoners who is duped into thinking Navalny is a high-level government official. It is a scene that would be comedic gold, except given the circumstances it is not at all funny.
Oh, and there is one other gem that really is worth seeing because it offers cheer in the bleak midwinter of northern Europe. The Banshees of Inisherin is the story of two best friends on a small Irish island who suddenly fall out with each other. That’s the story. And in the hands of a master story teller, that’s all you need to get through a long winter’s day.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
SPECS
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
